Breathless
by ECad
Summary: A day on the job goes bad for Bosco and Yokas.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The sun was shining in the fifty-fifth precinct, though a chill still lingered in the mid-April air. As the RMP turned a corner, Faith Yokas watched from the passenger-side window as she and her partner passed by fellow New Yorkers going about their business. The whole city has taken on a rare calm today. Springtime had a way of doing that, even in the Big Apple.

Faith loved springtime. To her, it felt like waking up from a deep sleep. She supposed a lot of people felt that way. She knew Bosco did. He'd never admit it, but he hadn't complained once so far today and she suspected it had something to do with the weather.

"Do you think this'll keep up?"

Bosco's sudden question interrupted her reverie. "What?" she inquired.

"The weather. You think spring is finally here, or is this just a big tease?"

"I dunno, Bos, but I'll take what I can get."

"No kidding. I…"

Suddenly they were interrupted by a call from the dispatcher. "Unit in the five-five, respond to a disturbance at One-Oh-Three and West End. Caller says a man with a knife is threatening passers-by."

Bosco thumbed the mic on his radio. "Five-five David, One-Oh-Three and West End." He flipped the switch to activate the lights and sirens and hit the gas.

"So much for a quiet shift." Faith remarked, almost to herself.

"You know you love it." Bosco replied with a smirk. _Finally,_ he thought. _A little action._

As 55-David rounded the corner onto West End, a man in a pink shirt and a straw hat ran up to the RMP.

"Officers!" he shouted as he approached. "He went down that way." He said, indicating 103rd in the direction of the river.

Faith leaned across Bosco and asked the man, "What'd he look like?"

"Tall. Six-three, six-four, maybe. White, but sunburned. Red shirt and ripped jeans. He had a hunting knife with a serrated edge."

"Okay. Stay here in case we need you to identify him." She said as Bosco radioed in the description of the suspect. The man nodded his assent and stepped back as Bosco sped off in the direction the perp had fled.

It didn't take long before Bosco spotted a man matching the description they were given strolling casually through Riverside Park.

"Bingo." Bosco muttered. "I don't see a knife though." He added as he pulled over.

"Doesn't mean he doesn't still have it." Faith replied. She called in their location and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Let's do this nice and careful. I'm not in the mood to go to Mercy today."

"Not a problem. I've got a date tonight and I don't plan on standing her up." He quipped as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. They followed close behind their target, silently. Moments later, they spotted Sully and Davis pull up in 55-Charlie. Clearly, the perp did too because he quickly turned tail and ran right into Bosco and Yokas. Before the man could register what had happened to him, he was cuffed and pinned to the stone wall beside him so that Bosco could search him.

As Sully and Davis approached, Bosco found the knife in the waistband of the man's pants. "Nice knife, man," Davis interjected. "But I'm pretty sure there's nothing to hunt in the park. You got this, guys?"

"Yeah, we're good." Yokas replied. "You wanna grab our witness so we can get this guy ID'd?"

"No problem." Sully responded as he and Davis returned to their vehicle.

It was a quarter past eleven and Faith was at the end of what had, thankfully, been a reasonably quiet shift. Bosco had already changed into his civvies and came over to her locker.

"What do you think?" He asked her, turning to show off his outfit.

"Very handsome, Bos." She said. "I'd do you."

Bosco chuckled. "Night, Faith." He replied as he headed for the door and to his date.

Faith smiled and continued to change. They had been partners since forever and she knew she'd hear all about his date when they rode together tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was two o'clock in the morning and Bosco had just gotten home from what had been a fairly disappointing date. Sure, the girl had been attractive enough, but she didn't stop talking. Ever. He had thought that if he could just make it through dinner, maybe they could go back to his place, or hers, but after the twenty-third time she had cut him off mid-sentence, he decided he was no longer interested. He wasn't usually that picky about whom he took home, but he really wasn't that hard-up for sex. _There's always tomorrow_. He thought. Tonight, though, he decided to get a good night's sleep. He had a feeling that this happy, friendly version of New York City wouldn't hold out forever.

As it turned out, Bosco had been right about the mood in the city. It was much colder today than it had been yesterday. At just forty-four degrees, his fingers felt chilled on the steering wheel of the RMP.

He and Faith had begun their shift with a domestic, which was never a good sign. They had been to Mercy three separate times with three separate victims. Now, here they were, again, pulling into the emergency department of Angel of Mercy Hospital. This time, it was because the small-time drug dealer in the back seat claimed he had asthma and needed his inhaler. It was the oldest trick in the book and he and Yokas had seen it a million times before. In the end, the perpetrator got a few extra hours out of lock-up and the arresting officers wasted those hours that could have been spent in a more productive way. It was all a big pain in the ass if you asked Bosco, but they were legally required to take anyone that requested it to the ER.

"You better behave in here, Freddy, or I'm gonna give you a reason to be here." Bosco said as he turned around in his seat.

"You got no worries from me Officer Boscorelli." Freddy replied. Bosco knew that he'd be no trouble. He and Faith had arrested Freddy at least half a dozen times in the past. These nickel and dime dealers were rarely more than a nuisance.

As it turned out, the ER was surprisingly uncrowded. An hour ago, it had been standing room only.

"Hey, Mary, we've got one under who claims to be asthmatic." Faith reported to Nurse Proctor. "We'll love you forever if you get us out of here before dark."

Mary chuckled and told them to sit down. "I'll do my best." She said before turning back to her paperwork.

Whether Mary pulled some strings or they had simply gotten lucky, they had gotten in and out in an hour and a half, something for which Faith was very grateful. She hated the hospital. The smells, the sounds, everything spoke of misery and suffering as far as she was concerned. Bosco felt the same as Faith did.

They had dropped Freddy off to the station house and were on their way to their meal break.

"I'm starving." Bosco said. "There was a point there where I was actually considering getting one of those sandwiches out of the hospital vending machine." He added with a shudder.

Faith laughed. "Well, at least we would have already been in the emergency room." She joked.

Bosco laughed too. He wasn't a picky eater, but they both knew he wouldn't eat anything that came out of a vending machine unless he was really desperate.

Suddenly, their radios chimed in "Five-five David, take a holdup alarm at One-Oh-Eight and the park."

"God damn it!" Bosco griped. "I guess we don't get to eat today." He thumbed his mic. "David. One-Oh-Eight and the park."

As they sped off to their call, Faith remarked, "I'm not going to let this get me down."

As they approached the window of the bank, they stopped momentarily to sneak a peek inside. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. People were going in and coming out. Nobody seemed frightened or upset.

"False alarm, you think?" Faith said as she approached the guard. "We got a call for a hold-up in here." She told him. "You see anything?"

"Nah. All quiet here. Want to check with the manager just in case?" the guard responded.

"Yeah." Bosco answered. He decided to err on the side of caution. "Can you call him out here?"

The guard dialed a number on his cell and did as Bosco requested. "He's on his way out." He said.

After having spoken to the bank manager and checking for themselves, they called in the false alarm and declared themselves back in service.

"I hate false alarms." Bosco declared as he dropped himself unceremoniously into the driver's seat of their RMP. "You got all this adrenaline pumping through you and no outlet. Makes me wanna crawl out of my skin,"

"Wanna go for a jog?" Faith teased. "I could pick you up in a few blocks."

"Nah." Bosco replied, either ignoring her or simply oblivious to her mocking. "Let's go eat."

It was the end of their shift and Bosco and Yokas had just arrived back at the house. It had been a long, exhausting day but Bosco wasn't in the mood to go home.

"Hey, Faith," He called as they entered the locker room. "You wanna get a coffee or something?"

She looked at him. "What? No hot date tonight?" She loved to tease him about the girls he dated.

"Nope, not tonight." He answered.

"Sure, why not?" Faith replied. "Fred's got the kids this week, anyway."

They changed out of their uniforms and headed out to Bosco's Mustang.

"You know, Bosco, we were so busy today, you never told me how your date went." Faith stated as they drove towards their usual coffee spot.

Bosco didn't look at her. "I guess not." He said simply.

Faith waited a few moments, but he didn't elaborate. "Oh come on, Bos. You've been bragging to me about your sexual exploits for how many years? I know who you've been with and in what positions and now you clam up?" It couldn't have gone well, she thought, if he didn't bring it up before now.

"It just wasn't interesting enough to mention, I guess." He answered. "She wouldn't stop talking. She was loud, obnoxious, and she kept cutting me off mid-sentence."

Faith laughed. "I figured that wouldn't matter as long as she'd let you into her pants."

"Usually it wouldn't. I dunno, maybe…"

"Maybe you're ready to settle down, Bos."

"Maybe." He said. "Don't tell anybody, though." He joked.

Faith and Bosco chatted over coffee in their usual way, each poking fun at the other. Bosco had always lobbied in favor of Faith and Fred's marriage, but he had to admit; she seemed happier since he had left her. Not at first, of course. The night that Fred had left, she had come to his apartment and sobbed herself to sleep in his arms. Bosco, who had never been comfortable with sad situations like that, didn't know what to say, so he just sat there and let her cry. Now, however, just a few months later, she was herself again, only more so.

After an hour or so, the coffee was gone and they were both yawning, so they decided to call it a night.

On the way home, Faith remarked that the waitress seemed to be eyeing him the whole time.

Bosco chuckled. "Oh yeah? Maybe I should go back there."

"You know," Faith said. "She had a lot of nerve, flirting with you with me sitting right there. For all she knew, we could have been a couple."

"Nah," Bosco teased. "You're not my type."

Faith feigned insult. "Why am I not your type?"

Bosco bit his lip, suppressing a smile. "You're too stubborn." He said, knowing he had her riled up.

"Stubborn? I'm not stubborn, Bos. If either of us is stubborn, it's you. Not me."

"See? You're too stubborn to admit you're stubborn!" he jibed.

"Bosco! I'm not stubborn!"

Bosco pulled up to the curb in front of Faith's apartment. "Night, Faith." He said with a smile.

"I'm not stubborn." She responded, still pretending his remarks bothered her. "Go have fun with your waitress." She teased and waved goodnight. Bosco watched to make sure she got into the building safely, then put the car in gear and headed home.

As he was unlocking the door to his apartment, he heard a ding, indicating he had received a text message. Once inside, he checked his phone to see a message from Faith. "Not stubborn." was all it said. He laughed quietly to himself, then locked up for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The following day was overcast and cool. Most of the officers in the five-five were coming into the locker room wearing hats and gloves. Bosco hadn't bothered with gloves, but his NYPD ball cap was pulled down low to keep the cold breeze off his head. He hadn't been sick in over three years and wasn't planning on breaking his streak of good health.

Faith entered the locker room a couple of minutes after Bosco, gave him a friendly greeting, and went to her locker around the corner from his.

"How's it going, Faith?" Sully inquired as he strolled in just after her.

"Can't complain." She told him. She finished changing and strolled over to Bosco's locker. "So I got it into my head this morning to paint my apartment." She said.

"Finally sick of the purple?" he asked.

"Just ready for a change." She told him. "Moving on, I guess."

"Why do I feel like I'm being roped in to doing it for you?"

"No," Faith said. "I might need some help picking out some colors, though."

"And you're asking me?" He laughed. "I've been in the same apartment for six years and all my walls are still beige. I hate beige."

Faith laughed. "Maybe hot pink." She suggested.

Bosco gave her a funny look. "For mine or yours?"

Just then, Lieutenant Swersky popped his head in to announce roll call.

They had just come off their meal break when the dispatcher chimed in over the radio. "Units in the five-five, respond to a holdup alarm on One-Oh-Eight and the park."

"Déja vu." Yokas commented. "That's the same spot as the false alarm from yesterday."

"Well, at least we got to eat today." He replied as he called in to Central. Sully and Davis had just called in as well.

As they pulled up on the scene, Bosco and Yokas had fully expected to find another load of nothing. As it turned out, they pulled up to see a man run out of the bank holding a black duffel bag and a gun. Bosco's first impression was that this guy has huge. He looked about six-foot-six and built like a tank.

Seeing the cops, the man fired two shots at the windshield of their RMP. Bosco and Faith dove out of the way, bullets missing them by inches as Faith hit the brake. Poking his head up to get a better look, Bosco spotted 55-Charlie pull up to their right and the shooter go left on foot.

"Son of a bitch!" Bosco shouted, then hauled himself out of the passenger seat and bolted down the road after the shooter. "Five-five David to Central!" He called between breaths. "Shots fired at this location. Suspect has fled on foot. Heading into the alleys behind the building."

Bosco chased him through the alleyways at full speed. The suspect was really fast. He was almost to the other side when Sully pulled up on 109th Street at the mouth of the alley. The man turned, crashing into a dumpster, losing his grips on his gun. Bosco managed to grab a handful of jacket, but the fleeing man ripped it out of his hand with such force that Bosco was thrown into a pile of empty cardboard boxes, giving the man back his head start. Bosco scrambled to his feet, still in hot pursuit, all the while dragging his radio mic that had come unclipped, behind him.

As he chased, he could hear Faith call in on the radio. "Suspect is heading north across Cathedral Parkway. My partner is in foot pursuit."

Bosco saw him turn right and dart into another system of alleyways on 110th. Bosco was getting mad now. He drew his gun and proceeded cautiously down the alley. He had lost sight of his prey and this alley had a lot of nooks and crannies where somebody could wait in ambush. He reeled in the mic on his radio and re-clipped it to his shoulder. Bosco checked the first side-alley, the second. No sign of the shooter.

He could hear the sirens in the background. Backup was on the way. He radioed in as he approached the third side-alley. "Five-five David. I'm in an alleyway north of One-" Suddenly, his airway was cut off by strong, thick fingers wrapped tightly around his throat. He felt himself driven across the alley and slammed against the brick wall on the opposite side. His feet left the ground as his assailant dragged him up the wall, grabbing for Bosco's weapon.

"Five-five David, say again your last." The radio squawked, but Bosco couldn't answer. Couldn't draw breath enough to make a sound.

Bosco held tight to his weapon, but the man had a vise-like hold on his wrist. He felt bones squeezed tight and hear the pop as they gave way and snapped. Struggling to keep this man from getting his hands on his gun, Bosco used his other hand to try to pry the fingers away from his throat.

Faith circled the area, but saw no sign of Bosco or the suspect. His last radio call had cut off suddenly and she feared the worst.

Units from all over the five-five were responding and beginning to block the exits to the alleyways in the vicinity. Faith decided to take the route she thought Bosco might take. _Please let him be okay_. She thought desperately as she un-holstered her weapon and headed down the alleyway.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Air. Bosco needed air, but the unrelenting fingers around his throat refused to allow him even a gasp. So far, he had managed to keep his grip on his gun, but the lack of oxygen was starting weaken his body. With his legs kicking for purchase on the wall as he remained pinned about a foot off the ground, Bosco felt his vision go dark around the edges as the man had begun to slam him again and again against the wall. Still, Bosco held fast to his gun.

Faith could hear scraping around the corner. She took a breath and stepped around the corner, gun drawn. What she saw was her partner, pinned to a wall by the throat, just as he finally lost his grip on his gun, still trying desperately to find the ground beneath his feet. The subject had heard her and immediately turned Bosco's gun on her.

She didn't hesitate. She fired her weapon.

Everything was starting to feel farther and farther away. He needed air. Bosco knew he was losing this fight and he prayed that backup would hurry up and arrive.

The throttling was taking its toll on him and Bosco felt himself lose his grip on his gun. His moment of panic was interrupted by confusion when the weapon was pointed away from him and back down the alley.

It all happened at once. He heard a shot just as he felt himself being jerked forward with great force. Then he felt a thump as though he had been kicked in the ribs, and the sensation of falling as he heard a second shot echo off the walls of the alleyway.

The perp was down. Davis had shown up from the other end of the alley and shot him, but Faith barely noticed as she rushed over to her partner.

Bosco was gasping for air, but choking on blood at the same time. A sticky, red stain was spreading out from where Bosco lay, struggling to breathe.

"Oh my god! Bosco," she sobbed. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Breathe. Just breathe." She cried as she began tearing at his clothes, trying to assess the damage. She gasped and began to sob even harder as she tore open his t-shirt to find the bullet hole in the right side of his chest.

Just then, Sully approached her. "Bus is around the corner." He told her urgently. "Here. Let me." He said, indicating the pressure she was putting on Bosco's heaving chest. "You get his head up. Help keep his airway clear."

"Bosco, Bosco." She sobbed, obeying Sully's command. "Sully, he pulled him into the line of fire. Oh, Bosco. I'm so sorry." She cradled his head in her lap. It seemed to ease his breathing a little, but she could tell that her bullet had pierced his lung.

An officer went over to the downed suspect to make sure he was unarmed. Ty rushed to take Bosco's hand to try to soothe the wounded man. The other officers on the scene could do nothing but watch helplessly as their comrade in arms lay writhing and retching in a vain effort to fill his lungs with air.

Finally, after what had seems like years to Faith, the paramedics came sprinting around the corner with a backboard and their medical bags. Faith barely registered the medical jargon that Kim and Carlos were throwing around. Her whole being was focused on her partner and the guilt she felt for having shot him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Bosco was only peripherally aware of what was going on around him. Most of his attention was focused on getting as much air as possible into his burning lungs. Pain barely registered. Panic had been pushed aside. Exhaustion and dizziness took its place.

He was vaguely aware of voices, muffled but familiar all the same. He had no idea what they were saying, but he felt comforted by them. If he was going to choke to death on his own blood, at least he wasn't going to die alone.

Something poked him in the ribs. His body jolted, but the pain was nothing compared to his need for just one decent breath. He felt something hard slide down his throat and suddenly felt a whoosh of air being pumped into his lungs. Still, it wasn't enough. He felt like someone was sitting on his chest.

Bosco felt himself fading and, though he struggled to fend off the darkness, he slipped away into unconsciousness.

"Bosco!" Kim called as she and Carlos loaded him into the back of the ambulance. "Carlos, we gotta move. Fast!"

"Sully!" Carlos called. "I need you to drive." He said as he jumped into the back with Kim and a still-sobbing Faith.

"Yeah," Sully said as he jumped into the driver's seat of the bus as Davis sealed the back door behind them. Supervisors were now on the scene and Davis was cleared to escort the bus to Mercy.

Chaos. As Kim and Carlos wheeled the gurney into the emergency room of Angel of Mercy Hospital, the whole scene felt about as chaotic as Sully had ever seen. Maybe, he thought, it was just his perception.

As the paramedics raced into the trauma room spouting details of the trauma inflicted on his friend, he found himself attempting to restrain Faith who was trying desperately to stay by her partner's side.

"Let them work." He told her.

Ty Davis approached the trauma bay and stood beside his, watching the doctors and nurses work. He knew he was no expert, but he could tell it didn't look good for Bosco. He wished desperately that he was wrong. What would happen to Faith, he wondered, if he didn't make it.

Ty was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden wailing from the trauma bay. He heard someone shout "V-tach! Get ready cardiovert."

"No pulse!"

"Shock him!"

Faith couldn't hold it together any longer. She started to hyperventilate. Sully caught her as she dropped to the floor. He tried to calm her, but to no avail. Every shock they sent through Bosco's limp body caused her to spiral deeper into panic. After all methods to calm the panic-stricken officer had failed, and ER doctor stepped in with a syringe in hand.

"Hold her still." He told Sully as the doctor raised the sleeve of Faith's jacket and injected something into her arm. Immediately, she began to calm. Her breathing became more regular, and then she slumped, unconscious, into Sully's arms.

"I had to sedate her." The doctor explained. "Help me get her into exam three. We'll have to keep an eye on her while she's out." Sully did as the doctor ordered. They loaded her onto a gurney and wheeled her away.

"Ty, stay with Bosco and keep me updated." He called as he followed behind Faith. Ty nodded and turned back in horror to watch the scene unfolding in the trauma bay.

One more jolt coursed through Bosco's body before a nurse shouted "Asystole!"

"Push one mg of epi!" Start compressions!" called one of the doctors. "Bring the thoracotomy tray!"

Ty stood transfixed as the cut open Bosco's chest. He wanted to look away from the gory scene, but found himself unable to do so.

Finally, they got Bosco stable enough to take him upstairs to the operating room. Ty found himself following the gurney toward the elevator, but was stopped when a nurse turned to him and pointed at the sign indicating that he was not to pass through the doorway. He stood there a moment until Lieutenant Swersky appeared behind him.

"Davis." He said. "How bad?" he asked.

Ty shook his head. "Really bad." He said, gravely. "He, uh, he crashed after they got him here. They had to crack his chest. They took him up to surgery."

"Where's Faith."

"She's in exam three with Sully. She started hyperventilating and they had to sedate her. She's really upset. She's feeling really guilty about shooting him." Ty explained.

"I thought it was you who shot the perp." Swersky inquired, perplexed.

"I did." Ty told him. "Faith shot Bosco. The guy had him by the throat and pulled him into the line of fire."

"She's in exam three, you said?" Swersky asked, already on the way there.

Ty followed him in. Sully was sitting beside the still unconscious Faith. He looked with questioning eyes as Ty entered just behind the lieutenant. "They got him back." He said, answering the question Sully had been about to ask. "They took him up to surgery."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Bosco regained consciousness slowly. He had no idea who he was, or where he was, only that it was dark. He was too tired to panic, so he just lay there, trying to make sense of his current predicament.

First things first: who was he? That one was easy once the fog started to lift. _I'm Officer Maurice Boscorelli_. He thought to himself. _I work in the fifty-fifth precinct in Manhattan._

Next, where was he? _No idea_. He thought. _We'll get back to that one_. He knew he might have better luck if he could see.

It was then that he realized his eyes were closed. _No wonder I can't see_. He thought. He tried to open them, but try as he might, he remained unsuccessful.

Instead, he focused on the other senses he had. He could hear beeping. Beeping and something else. Whooshing? Definitely whooshing. Confused, he listened more closely. Talking. Someone was talking. He couldn't make out the words, but the voice was familiar, somehow.

He could feel something scratchy against his skin, and something in his throat. He tried to swallow. Yup, definitely something in his throat. Suddenly, he realized that the whooshing was perfectly synchronized to his breathing.

_I'm on a ventilator_. He realized. _What the hell happened to me?_

Then he felt it: pain. His chest felt heavy and sore. With every breath he could feel his right lung stretching, seemingly past its breaking point. _Oh yeah_, he remembered. _I got shot_. If he had gotten shot, then it stood to reason that he was in a hospital.

Bosco lay there, eyes closed, and tried to focus on the voice he had heard. He knew that voice. It was Faith. Still, the words were too muffled to understand. He listened as intently as his tired body would allow. Slowly, he began to recognize some of her words.

"Bosco… the house." She said. "Sully…talked to…and he…"

Maybe, thought Bosco, he should try again to open his eyes. Using all the energy he could muster, he managed to pry his eyes open just enough to see his partner by his bedside. He blinked a few times, each time finding it easier to keep them open.

Faith was holding his left hand in both of hers. Sunlight spilled into the room, giving her dirty blonde hair a golden glow, like a halo. She was telling him a story about something funny that had happened in the locker room. She was looking down at his hand as she spoke. "Anyway," she said. "Here was Sully, leaning into his locker to grab his gun belt and Jarvis lost his balance and fell into the locker door. Now Sully's got a big old bruise on his forehead and Jarvis is so afraid of pissing his off that he waits until Sully's done changing before coming into the locker room.

She gave a half-hearted laugh that Bosco could see didn't reach her eyes. "I guess you had to be there." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She wiped them aside with her finger, and then placed his hand back in hers. He could feel the moisture on his hand. "I miss you, Bosco." She said, finally.

He remembered what had happened now. She had shot at the guy that was trying to kill him and the guy had pulled him into the line of fire. Forgetting himself for a moment, he tried to tell her that it wasn't her guilt, but instead, ended up choking a little on the tracheal tube.

Faith looked up into his face. "Bosco?" He was looking back at her with tired eyes. "Hi, Bosco." She said, smiling down at him.

He squeezed her hand weakly, hoping to convey all he had wanted to say to her in the gesture.

When Bosco next woke up, the tracheal tube was gone and his mother was sitting where Faith had been.

"Hey, Ma." He rasped.

"Hi, baby." She said, leaning in to kiss his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

Bosco laughed, weakly. "Sore." He said. "Where's Faith?"

Rose stroked his hair as she spoke. "Not here yet." She told him. "She's been here a lot. She blames herself for what happened, you know."

"I know." His voice was hoarse, but he had to continue. "Listen, Ma, if I'm out of it when she gets here, will you wake me? I need to tell her she did the right thing."

"Of course, Baby." She soothed. "Do you need anything?"

"Just to get out of this god-forsaken hospital." He rasped. "How bad was it?"

Rose sighed. She didn't want to think about the damage inflicted on her son's body. "The bullet," she said. "Went through your lung." She took a deep breath. It was hard to be strong for him like he always was for her. "It stopped near your heart. They had to break a couple of ribs to get to it, but it missed all the other organs. They were worried about how long you went without air and how much blood you lost."

"The bullet?" he inquired.

"Gone." She answered.

Bosco just nodded, silently, relieved to know they hadn't left it in there.

As Faith approached Bosco's hospital room, the officer outside the room nodded to her in greeting. She nodded back to him and smiled before proceeding through the door.

Bosco lay back, but had the head of the bed raised and was watching a hockey game on the television. He turned to greet her. "Hey, check it out." He said, pointing to his face. "One tube down, three to go."

"That's great, Bos." She told him. He noticed that she was looking past him and at the rain pelting against the window. He decided she needed to talk, so he turned off the television.

Faith looked startled. "You're turning off the Islanders, Bos?"

"Only for you." He said. He looked at her seriously for a moment. "Faith,"

"Look, Bosco, I know what you're gonna say. It's not my fault. Rationally, I know that, but it was still me that shot you, and I can't help feeling guilty about it." Her eyes had started to well up again.

He took her hand. "You were shooting at that guy. It was his fault, not yours."

"Yeah," she said, wiping another tear from her cheek. "But you almost died, Bosco. You almost died by my hand and there's nothing I can do to take that moment back."

"Yokas, he had my gun. I was being strangled. I'd have been dead anyway. What difference does it make if it was by your bullet or his hand around my throat?"

"And how would you feel if it was me whose heart stopped in the ER and you who had done it?" she shot back.

"Probably the same way you do right now, and you'd be here telling me it's not my fault and that I did what I had to do." He retorted.

Faith smiled. "You know what? You're probably right. The guilty feeling is still there, though.

"Well, I could always shoot you." He joked. "Then we'd be even."

She smirked. "Just for that, I'm going to make you sit there and watch while I eat this delicious cheeseburger that I brought for you." She pulled a foil-wrapped cheeseburger from her purse, un-wrapped it, and took a big bite. "Mmm," she teased. "This is, like, the best burger I've ever had in my life."

Bosco tried to hide a smirk. "I hate you so much right now." He told her.

Faith swallowed her bite and laughed. "Relax, Bos. This one is yours." She said, pulling another burger out of her purse.

"Eat fast, though. If the nurse catches us, they'll throw me out."

About a half an hour later, the doctor stopped in. he held a folder in his hand. "Good afternoon, officer. I'm doctor Reardon. I have the results of your neural exams." He looked to Faith. "If your friend could step outside for a moment..."

Bosco looked at Faith. "She can stay." He said.

"Okay, then." The doctor replied. "Well, we were concerned about brain damage due to the length of time you were without sufficient air supply, but according to the tests, you seem to have gotten lucky." Faith and Bosco both gave a sigh of relief. "That being said, Doctor Reardon continued, "If you find you're experiencing some dizziness, blurred vision, confusion, or anything else out of the ordinary, be sure to talk to the nurse as they may indicate some level of brain injury."

"Thanks, Doc." Bosco said. "When can I get rid of this chest tube?" He was finding it very uncomfortable, though he didn't want to say it with Faith by his side. She was already feeling responsible for his current pain. He didn't want to make her feel worse.

"We can do that right away if you like. I'll just grab a nurse to assist." He used the intercom behind the bed. "If you like, she can take the catheter out too, providing you feel strong enough to get up and use the toilet."

"See Yokas, that just leaves the IV. I'm almost a free man."

The doctor smiled. "That one will have to stay a little longer."

Bosco sighed. "Can't win 'em all, I guess."

Just then, the nurse appeared with a tray of medical instruments. "Okay, officer, you've already got plenty of pain meds in your system, but you might still feel some discomfort. Ma'am, if you're squeamish, you may want to look away."

The doctor got to work, but Faith didn't look away. She could see the pain that Bosco was trying to hide as the doctor slid the tube out. She sat there, watching as Bosco looked away. She rubbed his bicep, hoping to provide some comfort to him.

"Piece of cake." The nurse said as she placed a bandage over the wound that had, until recently, held the chest tube.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The day had finally come for his release and Bosco was pacing the floor of his hospital room. He had dressed an hour ago, packed his bag, and placed it at the foot of the bed. Now he was waiting impatiently for the final clearance to leave.

Faith, who was considerably calmer, sat on the edge of the bed. "Calm down, Bos. You're wearing a hole in the floor."

"I just want to go home. Maybe stop for some real food." He said, still pacing.

"Yeah, well, if you go through the floor, they'll never release you."

At last, a nurse came in. "Okay, Officer, you're free to go. Just sign here." She held out a clipboard with the paperwork attached and handed him a pen. He signed it quickly, thanked the nurse, grabbed his bag, and took off in the direction of the elevator. Faith had to jog to catch up.

Faith had brought Bosco's Mustang to the hospital, but insisted she be the one to drive it back to his place. He was too tired to argue. He had used up every ounce of strength he had getting to the car.

"You should have taken your time, Bosco." Faith told his as she drove. "They weren't going to make you stay if you walked a little slower."

He looked at her, seriously. "I needed to escape." Then he smiled at her.

She laughed. "It's a hospital, not a POW camp." She got serious for a moment. "Any word on when you'll be able to come back to work?"

"A couple of days, they said. Desk duty." Bosco sighed. "I'm supposed to see the doctor every week. Hopefully, I'll be cleared for full duty in a month or so."

"Don't push yourself too hard." Faith replied.

"You sound like my mother." He said, smiling. "She's trying to convince me to get a job as a mailman."

Faith laughed loudly. "That'll never happen." She said. Bosco laughed a little too, but winced as a sharp pain cut across his ribcage. Faith pretended she hadn't noticed. "Where is she today?"

Bosco sighed. "She said she wanted to get some groceries for me. All my perishables expired while I was in the hospital."

They pulled into a parking space outside Bosco's apartment building. Faith grabbed Bosco's duffel and got out as Bosco eased himself out of the passenger seat.

Unlocking the door to his apartment, Bosco turned to Faith. "I've been waiting for this moment." He told her, smiling. He opened the door and stepped inside. "Hello, home." Bosco said. "Smells clean in here."

Rose came out of the kitchen. "Of course it does. You think I'd let my baby come home to a dirty house? I stole your key and cleaned this place from top to bottom."

Bosco hugged her as she kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Ma. It looks great." He told her.

As the weeks passed, Bosco worked tirelessly to recover from his wounds. Well, maybe tirelessly wasn't the right word. He was tired all the time. According to the doctors, his lung function was almost back to normal, which meant that he was allowed back to full duty.

He had been jogging to work for the last two weeks and he finally felt like he could chase down criminals without keeling over. Not a moment too soon, either. If he had to spend another eight hours straight doing paperwork or answering telephones, he'd lose his mind.

It was a little after two o'clock when Bosco arrived at the fifty-fifth, which gave him more than enough time to shower and check out his gear before the start of shift. He couldn't help himself for being early. It was his first day back on the street and he felt like a kid on Christmas morning.

As his coworkers started filing into the locker room, all he could think was: _I'm back_.


End file.
